


Alchemists, Soldiers, Emperors, and Avarice - Skyla

by Error the Psychic (AskError), Skyla8221



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Adult Language, Age of Consent Is 16, All versions, But hey we do be finding love, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Found Family, Gen, Human Transmutation, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, LGBTQ Themes, Losing people sucks, M/M, Multi, Period-Typical Racism, Period-Typical Sexism, Platonic Soulmates, Some Descriptions of Violence, Straight Up Not Having a Good Time, We stan Greed in this house, alchemy is fun, we do the old clap hands trick, we have a time with loss, yes bb finds a man
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:13:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29966910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AskError/pseuds/Error%20the%20Psychic, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyla8221/pseuds/Skyla8221
Summary: Lying beneath Central is a world of unspoken strife and suffering. It is the same for many who don’t fit in on the surface, trying to feel comfortable in their own skin, stumbling along the road of life. Some are more successful than others.After everything she has lost, Skyla Gaia goes down the path of getting better. Making many friends as she tries to escape from the life that seems to keep her chained. With the help of a certain homunculus along with a soldier, she revs at full throttle to the future.Or- You have a really unhealthy obsession with the homunculus Greed, specifically GreedLing and now you have to take it upon yourself to change his fate cause he too wonderful."Reality can be whatever I want it to be." and "Fine, I'll do it myself." are basically the vibes.
Relationships: Greed & Ling Yao, Greed (Ling) & Ling Yao, Greed/Original Character(s), Ling Yao/Original Character(s), Major Miles/Original Character(s), Miles (Fullmetal Alchemist)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1: An Alchemist’s Anguish

It was an instant that countless months worth of research whirpooled down the drain. A slightly older girl screaming in horror, reaching out to the smaller girl still sitting just outside the glowing circle beneath her. The blue light of the circle brightening the dim light of the basement, dark, thin, tentacle like hands reaching as a thin line stretched across the circle, tearing into their reality to reveal a large eye. The multi-layered grey iris surrounding a dark pupil, the screaming echoing as the one girl fades in an unnatural array of rectangles. 

“Aurora!” The smaller girl yelled in desperation, reaching out her small hand towards her older sibling.

In an instant, she found herself in a room of pure white, a silhouette standing before her. Its face resembled a devious grin as the large dark gray doors opened behind her. Markings resembling a few alchemic theories dotting across her door, her gate. Black hands stretching outwards, wrapping around the small child as they pulled her into its depths. Endless amounts of information pouring into her small mind, her head feeling as if it were on the verge of splitting in two. Just as she felt the knowledge flowing into her fit together like a puzzle, that final piece just barely slipped away from her as she found herself back before the silhouette. 

“I see now. I’m just missing one more piece.” She mutters, turning to face the large, stone gate. “It’s in there. I just need one more look.”

“You can’t, child. I can only allow you to see what is worth the toll you have paid.” The silhouette responds.

The young girl turns her head towards the silhouette, confusion written all over her face. Her left hand slowly faded away, much like how her sister did, slowly traveling up her arm as her consciousness is thrust back into reality. Finding her left arm gone, blood pouring onto the ground below her. The pain coming to her all at once, making it known through a bloodcurdling scream. Panic settling into her body, her eyes frantically bouncing around the room. Silently hoping for her older sister to be there. The cruel truth dropped in the pit of her stomach at the sight of her sister’s clothes laying upon the floor, no longer encasing her body. Tears from the agonising pain falling down her cheeks as her eyes reluctantly fell upon the center of the circle. The grotesque creature laying there, jaw stretched far too widely open, its ribs jutting out of black skin. What was supposed to be a human, her father, looked like a creature of nightmares. The life of the failed creation was extremely finite as the beings' deep red blood spilled onto the floor. That’s when it came to her, her heart breaking at the realization. First her father, now her sister. And with the state she was in, she could lose her own life if her bleeding continued. Her vision was already fading in and out. The door to the dark basement slammed open. Her family friend enters, their eyes landing on the grotesque thing in the middle of the room before darting to the young child’s barely conscious body, her left arm bleeding profusely. The feeling of being lifted and the worried face of her friend was the last thing she remembers before her vision goes black.


	2. Chapter 2: A Fresh Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THE DEVIL'S NEST CREW :D

Time passed by Skyla much like the cars on the streets of Amestris did. With great speed and quite noisy. One moment she was an eight year old alchemist, the next she was eleven, nearing twelve. The noise had been a mix, most of it unpleasant. Though, maybe there was a reason for that unpleasantness. An errand, she was told, to pick up a package from a town in Southern Amestris called Dublith. She would journey to a specific location she was given to meet who went solely by ‘The Informant’ which seemed quite fitting. Sky had never been to this town before and this had been her first errand outside of Central. Needless to say, she was quite nervous throughout the train ride from the capital to the southern town just past Rush Valley. Her nervous swirls of thoughts ended as the train came to a halt. The conductor called out to the crowds, informing those still aboard of the current stop. Sky grabbed her small suitcase and ensured her satchel was still on her person before disembarking the locomotive. She took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of the air. The smell of smoke from the burning coals that powered the train. It felt weird to be here. Sky wasn’t sure just yet if it was a good weird or not. From the station, she could see far in the distance a large body of water, in the center being a small island. She let out a small gasp of awe, this town was much bigger than she imagined. Which means finding the Informant’s headquarters will be much harder than she anticipated. A groan of slight worry falling from her lips as she leaves the station and into the heart of the town.

“Oh boy...I think I’m lost.” She mutters, having found herself back in front of a building she had just passed by.

“I’d be happy to help you find what you’re looking for.” An eerie voice says from just inside an alleyway. “But of course, I require something in exchange.” They continued, slightly stepping out of the alley. Was that a tail? A...lizard tail?

“I, uh, I don’t...I don’t really have anything of value.”

“You sure? I heard somewhere that you are an alchemist. Is that true?”

“Oh, um, yes, that’s true.”

“How wonderful! There is someone who would like to meet you.”

“But what about-”

“I’ll be sure to take you to the Informant afterwards.”

“O-Ok.”

She was incredibly naive, granted, she was only eleven, just turned twelve on this very day. It was also quite surprising no one questioned the fact that a twelve year old was being escorted to a bar. Sky’s nerves increased by the second as she tightly grasped her satchel strap. 

“Is this the alchemist the boss was telling us about?” A male voice asks, deeper than the lizard man who was leading her down the staircase. Sky took in his appearance, quite short, spiky hair, white robes with a black undershirt, and a sheathed blade resting on his hip.

“She certainly is. I know, much smaller than we expected.”

The small lizard man was met with a hand to the back of the head, Sky’s expression twisted in anger. 

“I’m not that small! I’m still growing!!” She exclaims loudly.

“Is everything alright over here, Bido, Dolcetto?” A taller woman with an impressive tattoo that stretched from her right forearm to her right cheek. 

“Not sure, the alchemist nearly knocked Bido out just because he called her small.”

“That’s never a good idea.” An even deeper voice notes, a large, burly man with white hair making his presence known. The small alchemist now surrounded by the odd bunch. This certainly didn’t help her already quite nervous demeanor.

The poor girl started shaking, man, was this a bad idea. How could she just follow that guy without questioning their intentions? Sometimes, she really was dumb. She took a few steps back, which caused the chimeras to turn their heads toward her. She failed to notice another addition, who just so happened to be behind her. She froze the moment she bumped into them, eyes very slowly moving to see who it was as she continued to shake. This new faces’ eyes being covered by circular sunglasses and towering over her at six feet was not helpful in lessening her fear. 

“Wasn’t expecting a statue delivery today.” The man behind her jokes before getting a better look at the girl in front of him. “Huh? The hell is a child doing in a bar?”

He gives a pointed look at the four just a bit further in front of him.

“Alright, which one of you brought them here?”

Three of them pointed at the small man with the tail, who looked down ashamed.

“I only did as you asked! I brought the alchemist the Informant said was coming to meet him.”

“He didn’t tell me that the alchemist was a child.”

Now she got it, this was the guy the lizard man, who she has learned is named Bido, wanted her to meet with. Why did he need an alchemist? She would find out soon enough. A deep sigh leaving the man behind her, him looping around her to instead be in front of her. He squatted down to be eye to eye with her. She immediately took a step back, her eyes still wide in fear.

“Woah there, it’s alright. I’m not gonna hurt ya.” He says, arms up in a sort of ‘I surrender’ pose. “Just have a few questions is all. Honest.”

As a way to try and lessen his intimidating demeanor, he takes off his sunglasses, Sky immediately noticing the tattoo on his left hand. It was familiar, her fear subsiding slightly as she slowly reached out to touch the tattoo on his hand. It didn’t wipe away when she placed her hand on it, so it must be real. She already began to visibly relax. 

“Um, cool tattoo.” She says, pulling her hand that was touching the ouroboros symbol on his hand. The wings of the symbol pointing towards his fingers.

“Well thank you, little alchemist.”

Poor guy, she doesn’t even know his name yet and he suffered the same fate as Bido. A hand hitting the back of his head.

“I’m not little!” She exclaims, her fear having morphed into comedic anger.

The man let out a groan, her hit was quite hard. Much harder than he expected. “Geez, you didn’t need to hit me that hard.”

She puffed out her cheeks in anger, the sight was quite adorable.

“Anyways, let me properly introduce myself.” He starts while rubbing the back of his neck. “The name’s Greed, and I wanna be your friend.” He grins, as if introducing himself is one of his favorite things to do. 

It wasn’t long for her anger to subside. Deciding to introduce herself as well.

“I’m Skyla.” She says, holding a small hand out to shake it. He takes it into his, surprised by the drastic difference in size her hand was compared to his.

“Well, Skyla, I believe we’ve already established that you’re an alchemist. So, let me start with some questions.” Greed begins. “How much do you know about bio alchemy?”

“I know quite a bit. I’m a specialist in the field of biomedical alchemy.”

“Interesting. How much do you know in the realm of soul bonding?"

“I’ve heard of it, but I don’t know much about it.”

“Hm, and have you ever bonded a soul to something before?”

“...No. No I have not.”

“I see.” Greed’s expression didn’t change too much, but he did seem to be a little sad about her ignorance in the field of soul bonding. It was faint, the look of sadness in his eyes, but Sky caught it. She made no mention of it though.

Originally, they were going to do as promised, have one of his henchmen take her to the Informant. But the growl of her stomach changed those plans. Instead, they treated her to a very nice meal in the bar. Allowing her to get to know some of the crew.

“So you guys are human-based chimeras?” She asked, taking another bite of a chicken drumstick she was given.

“Yup. Roa was made with a cow, Martel with a snake, Bido with a Lizard, and myself with a dog.” Dolcetto explained, pointing at each of them before pointing at himself.

“Whoa. What about Greed? Is he a chimera?” Sky asks. She knew the answer, but she didn’t want them to know that.

“Nah, the boss is...different.”

Sky tilted her head before feeling a hand pat her head.

“Yeah. You see, I’m what’s called a homunculus.” Greed says, the big grin from earlier plastered on his face.

“A homunculus? Like, an  _ actual  _ artificial human being?”

“You got it. I don’t think any normal person can do this.” He says, holding out his hand, watching as a dark gray material covered it. Sort of claws at the tips of his fingers. 

Sky reached out a curious hand, feeling the texture of his stone covered hand. It was smooth, a lot like a stone one would find on the ground. It was a stark contrast from the soft and warm touch of a hand. Greed couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Most people ran and screamed at the sight of his shield. Instead, she seemed more curious about it than anything. A sort of fondness for the child washing over him. Letting out a chuckle as she started mumbling.

“It feels smooth, like a stone. Let’s see, the human body is mostly made up of carbon, and if structured a certain way molecularly, it can be the same toughness as diamond. Though, when rearranged can be as weak as graphite.” Her small voice explains to herself.

“The heck are you muttering about?” Dolcetto asks, even his better sense of hearing couldn’t understand her rambles.

That seemed to break her out of the trance she had found herself in, realizing she was uncomfortably holding Greed’s shield covered hand. She muttered out a sorry as she let go of it. He slowly pulled his hand back to his side, the dark gray fading away. 

“Does that have a name? The thing you did with your hand?” She asks Greed.

“Indeed it does. It’s called Ultimate Shield.”

She let out a soft ‘wow’ in genuine awe. 

She determined being here was a good weird.


End file.
